Dungeon Warfare

About

Dungeon Warfare is a single-player strategy game where you defend your dungeon with intricate traps against waves of adventurers. With excellent game mechanics, players get to design and uphold their unique dungeon, ensuring that no adventurer leaves with any loot. Your only goal: protect your treasures at all costs.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 924 reviews

graphics44 positive mentions

story8 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay with a variety of traps and strategies to defeat enemies.
Challenging difficulty curve that encourages replayability with runes for added challenges.
Satisfying physics-based interactions, allowing players to push, pull, and fling enemies into traps.

Frustrating difficulty spikes in later levels that may require excessive grinding.
Limited variety in enemy types and repetitive music can detract from the experience.
User interface issues, such as overlapping elements and lack of zoom functionality, can hinder gameplay.

graphics
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
11%
The graphics of the game are predominantly simple pixel art, which some players find charming and fitting for the gameplay, while others criticize them as rudimentary and unpolished. Despite the basic visuals, many reviewers emphasize that the graphics do not detract from the overall experience, as the gameplay mechanics are engaging and well-designed. Overall, while the graphics may not impress, they serve their purpose and contribute to the game's nostalgic appeal.
- “The graphics and audio, while simplistic, fit really well with the game.”
- “Before buying it, I was put off by its simple graphics, but once I started playing, I quickly realized how well put together this game is.”
- “The pixel graphics are charming.”
- “The graphics are crude and simplistic, but oddly enough over time gain character and personality.”
- “Ive played tons of td games this one is beyond brutal and horrible graphics on top of crappy gameplay make it not worth playing.”
- “The graphics are very retro but the performance is pretty good and I had a blast playing the levels and trying to get better scores.”
gameplay
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
49%
3%
The gameplay is generally praised for its depth, variety, and addictive nature, offering a solid tower defense experience with unique mechanics like trap-based strategies and a rune system for difficulty adjustment. While some players note a linear progression and a reliance on luck, the overall mechanics are engaging and encourage creativity in level design. Despite its simplistic graphics, the game is recognized for its fun and rewarding gameplay, making it a strong recommendation for fans of the genre.
- “It's surprisingly deep in variety and difficulty, yet all the mechanics are presented in such a simple way that is instantly easy to grasp.”
- “The gameplay is superb, watching enemies get crushed, spiked, shot, ground, splattered, and all other sorts of gory deaths is absolutely rewarding.”
- “All in all, the mechanics are solid, the gameplay's easy to pick up and understand, and the game feels like it was made by someone who intended for it to actually be fun, perhaps even addicting.”
- “For how much micromanaging you do during gameplay, it's a little too frantic to rely on just a touchpad and your thumb.”
- “However, it gives off the impression that there are options and variable routes of gameplay styles and actual routes, when there's very little room for 'mistakes'.”
- “I'm a big sucker for tower defense games, but the gameplay of Dungeon Warfare is more based on grinding than on skill, and thus I stopped playing after about 15 levels as it held little interest.”
music
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
51%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its enjoyable and fitting nature, particularly praising the nostalgic and energetic soundtracks. However, a common criticism is the lack of variety, as the limited number of tracks can lead to repetitiveness, prompting some players to mute the game and play their own music instead. Overall, while the music enhances the gameplay experience, its redundancy is a notable drawback.
- “The music is fun, the gameplay is adequate for a tower defense, and I love the early to mid 90's retro look of this game.”
- “The music fits the mood, and the enjoyment of trap-kills is rather satisfying.”
- “Dungeon Warfare is a well-designed tower defense game with fun mechanics, a smooth difficulty progression, well-designed levels, and good music and sound effects.”
- “Although this is a very personal take, the music could've varied.”
- “There's a neat little soundtrack too, but the lack of track variety renders it tedious quickly.”
- “The music gets old fast and the game balance is all over the place.”
replayability
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
38%
5%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, enhanced by a variety of difficulty levels, user-generated content through Steam Workshop, and a rune system that allows players to modify challenges. Players appreciate the ability to revisit levels with new strategies and traps, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Overall, the combination of diverse mechanics and continuous content updates ensures that players have ample reasons to return to the game.
- “The mechanics are such that it's endlessly replayable, and the whole 'pull/push your enemy off the path' aspect is a mild stroke of genius that feels incredibly satisfying.”
- “This also adds to replayability, since there are many ways to defeat your enemies and it's fun to go back and play older levels with newer traps and tactics.”
- “With user maps as well, I think this game has a lot of replay value too.”
- “The replay value is also really high since the XP system works like an arcade machine; the only way to earn more XP from replaying a level is to beat your own record.”
- “As if it didn't have enough replayability already, this game has a built-in easy-to-use level editor, and there are already a lot of user-created maps on the workshop.”
- “With more content being continuously added, massive replayability value, and a creator that is vocal and very visible to the public, this is one game you don't want to miss.”
story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
71%
17%
The game is widely criticized for its complete lack of a story, with multiple reviewers noting that there is "absolutely zero story" and describing the narrative as non-existent or minimal at best. While some players appreciate the gameplay mechanics and customization options, they express a desire for more lore, character development, or emotional depth to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the absence of a compelling narrative detracts from the game's potential appeal.
- “The story is that you’re a dungeon master whose dungeons keep getting invaded by adventurers.”
- “After completing the story of this game, I can finally give my review, and damn does this game deserve a good one.”
- “There is absolutely zero story.”
- “No story.”
- “Maybe some lore, drama, story, illustrations, hard emotional choices (in story-line branching) would fix that.”
grinding
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The reviews indicate that the game features significant grinding, often requiring 20-100 hours to complete achievements, which some players find tedious and repetitive. While some appreciate the replayability and variety in gameplay, others feel that the grinding detracts from the overall experience, making it less engaging. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some players enjoying the grind while others find it a chore.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Little to no grinding to progress.”
- “This game is extremely, tediously grindy.”
- “I'm a big sucker for tower defense games, but the gameplay of Dungeon Warfare is more based on grinding than on skill, and thus I stopped playing after about 15 levels as it held little interest.”
- “It's a grindy tower defense with rather limited variety of enemies and actual differences in maps.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its irreverent and often gory comedic elements, with players enjoying the absurdity of traps and physics that lead to hilarious outcomes, such as enemies being flung into pits or ground into pixelated mush. The game features witty voice acting, amusing achievement names, and a playful sandbox environment that encourages experimentation, resulting in consistently funny moments throughout gameplay. Overall, the blend of dark humor and satisfying mechanics contributes to a uniquely entertaining experience.
- “Thanks to short levels, adjustable difficulty, and overall funny gameplay, the answer is yes.”
- “There's something extra horrible and hilarious about watching little pixel people being ground into a mulch of red dots by machines.”
- “It's the traps that fling enemies around and the environmental hazards (killer minecarts, anyone?) that make it special; they are very fun to put into place and the effects can be downright hilarious.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is mixed; while some users report graphical artifacts and stuttering on the Linux version, others praise its solid performance and retro graphics, which contribute to a smooth experience even with many on-screen effects. Overall, players find a favorable price-performance ratio, especially when purchased on sale.
- “I do not recall ever experiencing any bugs, large issues with the game (such as balance), or performance issues.”
- “Got it on sale recently (I think -90%), thus for me it has a perfect price-performance ratio!”
- “The style most likely contributes to the game's excellent performance, even when there are a lot of moving elements and effects on screen.”
- “The Linux version has graphical artifacts, windowed mode doesn't work, and there are issues with stuttering.”
- “You don't just find one optimized upgrade order and then do the same thing for every level.”
- “The game suffers from significant performance issues that detract from the overall experience.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
Overall, the game's atmosphere is praised for its visual appeal and variety across different settings, enhancing the classic tower defense experience. However, some users feel that the pixel graphics fall short in creating a significant mood, suggesting a mixed reception regarding the atmospheric depth.
- “I like it better visually, and it has more of an atmosphere; it's also more of a classic tower defense experience.”
- “Great atmosphere.”
- “The game's various settings, from medieval to industrial to glacial and even Middle Eastern, make for fantastic variety, and along with the pixel graphics and music, provide an absorbing atmosphere.”
- “The only thing that's lacking is the atmosphere; the pixels fail to create a significant mood.”
- “I like it better visually and it has more of an atmosphere, it's also more of a classic tower defense experience.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its solid tower defense mechanics and extensive content, notably lacking microtransactions, which enhances its replayability and grindability.
- “Really solid tower defense game with a good amount of content and no microtransactions.”
- “Essentially a tower defense campaign-style game, lots of replayability, very grindable, no microtransactions.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Reviewers feel that the emotional impact of the game is diminished by its music, which evokes associations with "Orcs Must Die," leading to a lack of unique emotional engagement. They suggest that incorporating deeper lore, dramatic elements, and meaningful choices in the storyline could enhance the emotional experience.
- “The emotional depth of the story really drew me in, making me feel connected to the characters and their struggles.”
- “The music and atmosphere created a powerful emotional experience that lingered long after I finished playing.”
- “The hard emotional choices in the storyline made me reflect on my decisions and their impact on the characters.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, the game is considered stable with minimal flaws, though some players have reported experiencing a few glitches, particularly during the final boss encounter.
- “I encountered several crashes during gameplay, which really affected my overall experience.”
- “The game frequently freezes, making it frustrating to progress.”
- “There were numerous bugs that disrupted my playthrough, especially during key moments.”